Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Bc. Dominika Sirná The role of women in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's double works of art Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Bonita Rhoads, Ph. D. 2013 1 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature 2 Acknowledgement I would like to thanks to my supervisor Bonita Rhoads, Ph. D. for her kindness and my family for their love and support. 3 Table of Contents 1. Introduction...................................................................................................................5 2. Life.................................................................................................................................7 2.1 Early life..................................................................................................................7 2.2 The Pre-Raphaelite Brootherhood and an idea of Beauty.....................................12 2.3 Later life................................................................................................................20 3. The representation of women in the middle of 19th century.......................................25 3.1 Pre-Raphaelite stunner..........................................................................................28 3.2 Fallen Woman.......................................................................................................33 3.3 Virginal woman.....................................................................................................36 4. Selected Double Works................................................................................................38 4.1 Found and “Found”...............................................................................................46 4.2 The Girlhood of Mary Virgin and “Mary's Girlhood”..........................................50 4.3 Lady Lilith and “Body's Beauty”..........................................................................53 5. Conclusion...................................................................................................................58 6. Bibliography................................................................................................................60 7. Appendices...................................................................................................................64 7.1 Bocca Baciata........................................................................................................64 7.2 Proserpine ..........................................................................................................64 7.3 Found....................................................................................................................65 7.4 “Found” (For a Picture)........................................................................................65 7.5 The Girlhood of Mary Virgin................................................................................66 7.6 “Mary's Girlhood” (For a Picture) I.....................................................................67 7.7 “Mary's Girlhood” (For a Picture) II....................................................................67 7.8 Lady Lilith............................................................................................................68 7.9 “Body's Beauty” ...................................................................................................69 8. Résumé........................................................................................................................70 9. Resumé........................................................................................................................71 4 1. Introduction During his whole life Dante Gabriel Rossetti had been torn between two different arts–painting and poetry. He excelled in both, either separately or together. And it was Rossetti's “double work of art” which attracted the attention of public the most. Rossetti usually completed a picture and then wrote a poem discussing the aspects of the pictorial work. This process could also be subverted and then the poem preceded the painting. Nevertheless, each of these double works are closely connected together and cannot be split up as they “illuminate each other exactly” (McGann). Rossetti was also an illustrator and his total life's work is rather extensive. This bachelor thesis is therefore concentrated on three oil paintings to which was later added a sonnet and whose all parts are preserved till nowadays. The topic The role of women in Dante Gabriel Rossetti's double works of art is closely connected to his life, emotions and beliefs. Rossetti was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood which presented a new concept of perceiving and creating art. This movement was closely associated with the themes of Nature, Love and Beauty; thus, the women stood in the center of attention and were the prime source of inspiration. The paintings of Rossetti's depict women in a specific position but their roles differ according to the theme they represent; there is the dangerous femme fatale, the pure Victorian maiden, and the fallen woman. In the 19th century the gender roles were crucially divided but over the years the image of an independent woman started to be far more real than ever. A typical liberated fin-de-siecle woman emerged in the late 19th century but the struggle lasted longer. Victorian society was constructed on the basis of essentialism which further influenced 5 the division of normative social and sexual behavior. Dante Gabriel Rossetti worked within this puritan society but was deeply influenced by his ideas about love and spiritualism which were conveyed through the beauty of women. As “Rossetti's art cannot comfortably mediate between profound subjectivism on the one hand and a notion of objective truth on the other” (Henderson 912), it is more likely to claim that there are more possible interpretations of his work. Although he lived in a patriarchal society and was tempted to depict women in their inferior position, I argue that in his double works are traceable first indications of a feminine equality. The sonnet often reflects an intrusive thought and its short form enables the reader to explain it in distinctive ways. My analysis is concentrated on different representations of woman with the aim to prove their coherence with the myth of the 19th century women. Then it will be further explored how a painting is interrelated with an accompanying sonnet and if their interpretations could differ or not. In order to comprehend his relation to women more explicitly, the thesis includes a bibliographical part which will examine his life and beliefs more closely. The rationale of this thesis will be the survey of different roles which women had in Rossetti's work. The thesis is divided into three main sections; the first deals with the Rossetti's thoughts and life experiences, the second explores the representations of women in art in the 19th century, and the third compares the interconnection of selected double works and evaluates their interpretation in respect of potential feminine superiority. 6 2. Life In order to fully apprehend the complexity of Dante Gabriel Rossetti's work, it is essential to survey his life carefully. It is general knowledge that every artist is inspired by the people and events which occur in his instant surroundings. And again, it is important to know what an artist had on mind while working. This suggests that the topic of this bachelor thesis is closely connected to his life, emotions and beliefs as there is an obvious “conflation of art and life” (Cherry and Pollock 207) regarding Rossetti's work. 2.1 Early life Dante Gabriel Rossetti was born on May 12 1828, Portland Place, and as his later life proved, he had a multiplicity of talents; he is widely acknowledged both in art and poetry, which are for him “a means of expressing fundamental intellectual and emotional attitudes” (Doughty 5). He was not the only talented member of the family. His father, Gabriele Rossetti (1783-1854), was an aknowledged poet and he was deeply interested in politics (Sharp 3). He moved to London in 1825 where he sought for a political exile and where he met a governess, Frances Polidori, whom he married in 1826 (Sharp 5). Gabriele was teaching Italian Literature at King's College for fourteen years (Sharp 5) and Frances was taking care of Dante and her other three children. His both parents were Italians by origin living in London; they were cultivated, educated and well-mannered. Mother inclined to Anglicanism (Benson 3), but father was rather “a free thinker, but with a strongly spiritual nature” (Benson 5). But despite of their 7 different beliefs, they had a high intellect which proved to have a positive influence on their children. Dante's siblings were: Maria Francesca (1827-1876) who was a member of Anglican Sisterhood, William Michael (1829-1919) who was a critic and a biographer and who kept a diary of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and Christina (1830-1894) who was an accomplished poetess; it could be stated that “they were thus a family of marked characteristics, with strong literary and artistic gifts, with which was combined, in the sisters, a deep and mystical religion” (Benson 6) and who later achieved a prominent position in the society. Dante was baptized and received